At the start of every academic year, our attention naturally turns to the students arriving in our classrooms, laboratories, and practice sites. A new year represents new courses, new friendships, and new opportunities to learn and grow.

This fall, it also has me thinking about alumni.

August brought the annual Pharm Tour, where I met alumni from different generations and practice settings, revealing just how varied and impactful a pharmacy career can be. Some are caring for patients in their communities. Others are leading health systems, conducting research, developing new therapies, advancing public policy, or educating the next generation of pharmacists and scientists. 

What unites them is not where they ended up, but where they started.

Each alumnus was once a student sitting in a classroom in the College of Pharmacy, wondering what the future might hold. They faced difficult exams, developed lifelong friendships, learned from faculty and mentors, and discovered opportunities they never anticipated. The journey looked different for each of them, but it began here.

As I visit with alumni, I am continually reminded that the students walking our hallways today are the future of our profession and the future of our alumni community. The first-year student taking notes in a lecture hall this semester may become a pharmacy owner, a health-system leader, a researcher, an entrepreneur, or a faculty member. We cannot predict exactly where their path will lead, but we can prepare them for the opportunities ahead.

That perspective is one of the things I value most about the start of a new academic year. It reminds us that education is not simply what happens during four years on campus. It is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with a profession, a network, and a college community.

To our students, welcome back. To our alumni, thank you for the example you set and for continuing to invest in the college and its future. The connection between past, present, and future generations of Hawkeyes is one of our greatest strengths.

I look forward to seeing what this year's students will accomplish, both on campus and in the decades that follow. I also encourage our alumni to return to campus for Homecoming next month to reconnect with former classmates, engage with today’s students, and experience firsthand the energy and momentum of the college. Your continued involvement strengthens our community and helps ensure that the Hawkeye tradition remains vibrant for generations to come.